HMS Churchill

HMS Churchill

HMS Churchill

Britain

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.3	3.3	3.3

Class:

Destroyer

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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This page is about the British destroyer HMS Churchill (L45). For other vessels of the class, see Clemson-class.

Description

The Town-class, HMS Churchill (I45), 1942 is a rank I British destroyer with a battle rating of 3.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.83 "Masters of the Sea" as part of the British fleet closed beta test. It is the first destroyer in the British Bluewater fleet.

The HMS Churchill part of the Town class is a destroyer provided to the Royal Navy by the United States Navy during the early stages of World War II. The Town class served primarily as convoy escort over the Atlantic, fighting against the Luftwaffe and the soundless but seemingly omnipresent Wolfpacks of the German U-boats (U-Boots).

In the game, this vessel performs best defensively, as it lacks sufficient armament to stand against better-armed reserve destroyers. It turns into an unstoppable mammoth capable to win games among low-rank fast boats but it becomes into a trifling and soft prey among high-rank destroyers. 

Fundamentally, The HMS Churchill is on troubles facing anything bigger than her, so British aspiring captains must be patient and play smartly if they want to achieve success in this ship.

General info

The HMS Churchill can be recognised as light or auxiliary destroyer; this is because is not armed with many significative main armaments. Instead is armed with smaller automatic cannons which become useful against aircraft or small boats. The speed and armour are very limited and often, won't be the defining factor for its survival. 

Concentration of HMS Churchill's firepower and also the most armoured area.

When compared with other reserve destroyers, it does not performs similarly.

Survivability and armour

HMS Churchill's survivability is below average because of the crew complement being only of 143. With the average destroyer crew size among all nation's rank I being 183. This means Captains should not rely on crew durability to win duels with other destroyers; Churchill is likely to lose them.

The armour present on the ship is limited to the gun turrets' shielding. This is effective to shield the rate of fire since the guns will be more protected against shrapnel and HE shells. Yet, is ineffective against armour piercing rounds (AP), HE with base fuse (present on most German destroyers) and even aircraft fire. Small patrol boats with Heavy machine guns (12.7 mm) or automatic cannons are also able to knock out the turrets with facility.

The position of the sole main gun in the bow of the ship, allows the HMS Churchill to remain in the fight with the relatively concealed secondary machine guns in a superstructure behind the bridge. This is where the concentration of Churchill's firepower is placed.

Armour

Bow section with the various ammo racks and charges. The ready ammo rack is highlighted.

The armour plates available on the Churchill are made of Antifragmentation armour. 4.97 mm armour plates cover the main and secondary/auxiliary guns located at the bow and stern. The most armed area of the Churchill is protected by individual plates of 12.7 mm of Anti-fragmentation armour covering each anti-air turret.

The HMS Churchill's hull is made of 16 mm of steel while the superstructure is protected by only 4 mm steel.

This armour won't provide significative protection against most of the destroyer's main calibre shells (100 mm +). The hull armour is only practical against 12.7 mm or less.

Ammo racks

The bow is one of the most dangerous zones of the ship. Here the ready ammo racks are enclosed by a steel box and located next to the Hedgehog mortar charges just behind where the main turret is placed. Enemy ships might attempt to knock the single main gun but end up hitting the ready ammo, causing the fatal detonation of these. Unfortunately, just below the ready ammo racks, is located a huge stash of ammo. This storage might detonate by the direct hit or the close impact of a powerful enough HE shell with a base fuse.

Stern section's ammo rack is poorly protected.

On the positive side, this ammo rack is hidden below the waterline and between big fuel tanks. Those fuel tanks offer adequate protection against hits from the bow. So an ammo rack detonation is rare.

The second most dangerous zone being the stern of the ship. Here the majority of the explosives is settled. Depth charges are scattered everywhere; just below them, an ammo rack is located with even more depth charges. This ammo rack is poorly protected when compared with the main ammo rack, so captains should conceal it properly. Near there is also the torpedoes which only are protected by torpedo tubes.

Because of the big length and not so great mobility of the ship, this rear area is often hit by torpedoes which results in a fatal blow for the HMS Churchill. 

Mobility

Write about the ship's mobility. Evaluate its power and manoeuvrability, rudder rerouting speed, stopping speed at full tilt, with its maximum forward and reverse speed.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	61	26
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	50	22

Armament

Primary armament

Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: {{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.

Secondary armament

Some ships are fitted with weapons of various calibres. Secondary armaments are defined as weapons chosen with the control Select secondary weapon. Evaluate the secondary armaments and give advice on how to use them. Describe the ammunition available for the secondary armament. Provide recommendations on how to use them and which ammunition to choose. Remember that any anti-air armament, even heavy calibre weapons, belong in the next section. If there is no secondary armament, remove this section.

Anti-aircraft armament

An important part of the ship's armament responsible for air defence. Anti-aircraft armament is defined by the weapon chosen with the control Select anti-aircraft weapons. Talk about the ship's anti-air cannons and machine guns, the number of guns and their positions, their effective range, and about their overall effectiveness – including against surface targets. If there are no anti-aircraft armaments, remove this section.

Torpedo armament

Torpedo launchers are standard equipment on many ships and boats. Torpedoes are a significant means of defeating an opponent. Evaluate the position of the torpedo launchers, discuss the ammunition available, firing specifics such as dead zones, features of the torpedoes themselves, etc. If there is no torpedo armament, remove this section.

Special armament

Depth charges, mines, rocket launchers and missiles are also effective in skilled hands and can take an off-guard opponent by surprise. Evaluate the ammunition of this type of armament and rate its performance in combat. If there are no special armaments, remove this section.

Usage in battles

Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).

Modules

Tier	Seakeeping	Unsinkability		Firepower
I	Dry-Docking	Tool Set		4 inch SAP	Anti-Air Armament Targeting
II	Rudder Replacement	Fire Protection System	Smokescreen	102 mm shrapnel	Auxiliary Armament Targeting
III	Propeller Replacement	Ventilation	Shrapnel Protection		Primary Armament Targeting	Improved Rangefinder
IV	Engine Maintenance	New Pumps	Ammo Wetting	Torpedo Mode	Bomb mortar

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great amount of anti-air guns; perform well against boats
• Hight amount of additional armaments: Torpedoes, depth charges and Hedgehog mortar
• Narrow hull allows for incursion in small boat's area
• Good penetration of the main gun's SAP round; useful for heavy armoured ships as the Kanonenboot K-2 or MBK-161 (1943)

Cons:

• Quite slow; it lags behind most other Rank I destroyers
• A single main gun is ineffective; it also lacks HE filler to do any major damage
• Secondary gun is futile against destroyers; even less explosive damage input
• Only 3 torpedoes.
• Below average crew size
• Complicate playstyle due to vital insufficiencies (Speed, Firepower and Crew count)

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the ship and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Ship-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the ship's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the ship;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on ship;
• other literature.